Supreme Court stay on Madras HC ruling, reprieve for Google in Testbook case

Supreme Court stay on Madras HC ruling, reprieve for Google in Testbook case

The matter would be reviewed for jurisdictional boundaries

The Supreme Court of India has provided temporary relief to Google by halting a legal challenge from education technology company Testbook Edu Solutions over app store billing policies.

The stay order by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, freezes a 11 June ruling of the Madras High Court allowing Testbook's civil suit to proceed.

The high court rejected Google's dismissal request, noting that Testbook's claims primarily involved contract law and ‘tortious interference’ rather than competition law violations.

Thereafter, Google approached the top court, which must take a call on whether such disputes should go to civil courts or specialized regulators under the Competition Act and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.

In June 2023, Testbook, which operates over 700 educational apps for government exam preparation, sued Google over policies requiring developers to use the latter’s billing system and pay service fees of 15-30 percent.

The edu-tech company complained that the requirements were an arbitrary unilateral contract amendment, which reduced its revenue by up to 26 percent.

The case reflects broader global tensions over app store economics, as regulators from Washington to Brussels scrutinize fees and restrictions imposed by Apple Inc and Google on developers. It’s a scrutiny of big tech practices intensifying around app store fees and market dominance.

In India, the case has attracted attention from hundreds of startups and developers who could be affected by the outcome. With its massive smartphone user base and thriving startup ecosystem, India has become a key battleground for such disputes.

While Google is represented by senior advocates Harish Salve and Sajan Poovayya, advocate Abir Roy from Sarvada Legal is appearing for Testbook.